34. Hadley

34

HADLEY

H adley stretched her arms above her head and let out a huge yawn. Little drips of coffee fell into the carafe slower than her brain was functioning. She grabbed two to-go mugs and rested her hip against the counter to watch her morning drink being made.

Not morning. Pre-morning. The sun wasn't even up yet.

A door creaked, and Emerson padded into the kitchen rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing up this early?"

"Gage is picking me up. We're working at the Bensons' ranch."

Emerson held up a hand and blinked against the bright lights. "So, you had a day off, but you're still working? "

"What else would I do? I figure I'll spend the day with Gage and go see Mom this afternoon."

Emerson waved a hand over her head. "Whatever. I'm going back to bed."

"Sorry I woke you up," Hadley said as Emerson disappeared back into her bedroom.

Emerson still wasn't overly friendly, but it wasn't as if Hadley had spent much time with her new roommate. Emerson was training to work in the kitchen when the ranch opened up for the season in a few weeks, and Hadley was splitting her time between work, Gage, and her mom.

The rumble of a diesel engine grew outside, and Hadley whipped her phone out of her pocket and typed up a quick text.

Hadley: Don't knock! I'll be out in a sec.

She poured two cups of coffee and pushed her feet into her boots by the door. Careful not to spill the drinks, she slipped out into the chilly morning and quietly closed the door behind her.

Gage waited in front of his truck. With his back resting against the grill, his arms crossed over his chest, and his legs crossed at the ankles, he seemed all too content to be up at the outrageous hour.

He straightened and opened his arms to her as she stepped off the porch.

"Good morning," she whispered as she pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Morning, sunshine. "

"You seem happy this morning."

He shook his head and stared at her. "Not sure I could be anything else when you're around."

Good grief, the man had a way with words that made her weak in the knees. "You have a way of jump-starting my heart too, handsome."

Gage wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in to whisper in her ear. "You sure it's not the coffee?"

Hadley swallowed hard as her lungs struggled to do their job in the wake of Gage's morning adoration. "I haven't had any coffee yet," she managed to get out.

He pressed a kiss to the sensitive spot below her ear. "What about breakfast?"

Gage's kisses were burning like a branding iron down her neck. "Huh?" What was breakfast?

He chuckled, and the deep vibrations spread from his chest into hers. "I brought you breakfast."

"Oh. Okay." Who cared about food when Gage had every nerve ending in her body firing on all cylinders?

He stepped back and took both cups from her. "Let's go or I'll be tempted to take you back inside and skip work."

Her legs didn't work, but Gage made his way over to the passenger side. Pressing one of the cups between his arm and chest, he opened the door and waited for her .

Right. Work. Things to do. Her legs kicked into gear, and she slid into the seat. "Um, can we do more of that soon?"

Gage's grin lifted his bearded cheeks. "If you eat all your breakfast," he said before closing the door and walking around to the other side of the truck.

Tearing open the bag on the seat beside her, she pulled out a bacon biscuit. She'd eat three meals if it meant getting more kisses from Gage.

"Easy, tiger. I won't steal your food," Gage said.

"Just making sure I get more of your time later," she said with a mouthful of biscuit.

Gage reached over and squeezed her thigh. "As if you had to do anything to get my attention."

"You were pretty unimpressed with me when we first met," she pointed out.

Glancing over at her as he drove back onto the path leading out of the ranch, he grinned. "You couldn't be more wrong. Actually, I noticed you before we met."

She lowered the biscuit to her lap. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you in the hallway at the hospital a few days before you came to the garage. Let's just say you had my attention even then."

Hadley swallowed the dry biscuit. "How? I didn't see you."

Gage shrugged. "You weren't as captivated by me as I was you. "

"That's not fair. I didn't see you."

"I'd have to be dead not to notice you," Gage mumbled.

She playfully shoved his shoulder. "Stop it."

Gage jerked his head toward the food in her lap. "Eat."

With a huff, she did as she was told. The drive to Silver Falls passed quickly, and Mr. Benson was waiting for them at the barn. Hadley hopped out of the truck and grabbed a cooler from the back seat.

Gage hefted the chainsaw from the truck bed and looked around. "Travis running late?"

Mr. Benson nodded as he met them at the barn entrance. "He'll be here in a second. I asked him to pick up some chains on his way."

"Hey, Mr. Benson," Hadley said with a wave.

"Morning, Miss Hadley. I didn't know you were coming."

Gage jerked his thumb at her. "I said work, and she said me too."

Mr. Benson laughed. The hearty chuckle reminded her of the sound she'd heard Mr. Chambers make many times. Matthew Benson was much younger than her boss, probably in his early fifties, but he had the same wise and content air about him.

Hadley looked around at Silver Falls Ranch. It was much smaller than Wolf Creek, and it had a rustic feel about it. The Bensons recently renovated the barn near the entrance to be used for events, and a field of horses ran along the long drive to the main house. "I love this place. I'm glad y'all are getting it up and running."

Mr. Benson lifted his brown cowboy hat to rub the back of his neck. "We've had a few dozen head of cattle and two horses for a few years now. We can't add much more without hiring some help."

"I thought Gage worked for you," Hadley said.

"He does, but he already has a full-time job." Mr. Benson turned to Gage. "I appreciate your help, by the way."

"No problem. I'm glad to be here."

Travis pulled in and parked beside Gage, and everyone put the equipment in Mr. Benson's truck.

"What are we doing today?" Hadley asked.

"Clearing some trees. I need to build stables over there." He jerked his head to the tree line behind the field. "The ones we have are falling apart."

Hadley scooted into the back of Mr. Benson's truck beside Gage and leaned in to whisper, "What am I gonna do?"

"You know how to use a chainsaw?"

"Of course not."

"What about an ax?"

Hadley narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you kidding me?"

He squeezed her thigh and grinned. "There's a hedge trimmer you can use to clear the brush. It's easy. "

"I'm going to trust you on this one," she whispered back.

They drove toward the forest until a small clearing came into view. It was wide enough for the truck to fit through with some extra space on both sides, and it ran about a hundred feet into the woods.

Mr. Benson parked before they reached the end and shut off the truck. "This is as far as we've gotten. We probably need another two hundred feet that way and three hundred in that direction. Just look for the pink tags. Anything worth salvaging gets chopped and piled in the truck bed for firewood."

Travis hopped out of the truck first. "I call the ax!"

"I guess that means I'm climbing trees," Gage said. "Be sure to stay back in case something falls."

"The only thing falling better be limbs. Are you sure about this?" Hadley asked, trying not to panic at the idea of Gage working up in a tree.

"How do you think this part got cleared?" he asked as he got out of the truck.

Gage started tying himself to a tree at the edge of the clearing, and Hadley tried her best to pay attention to Mr. Benson's tutorial on how to use the trimmer. It was basically a smaller chainsaw, which only made her a little uncomfortable.

"Don't worry about him," Mr. Benson said. "He's always careful. "

"I'm not sure he can be careful enough to ease my worries."

Mr. Benson showed her how to start the trimmer and handed it over. He pointed to a section she could clear before picking up the other trimmer and heading for a different part of the woods. Small trees, bushes, and briars covered every inch of the forest floor, and she took her time cutting everything in her path.

Before long, her arms were aching from holding up the trimmer, and the muscles in her arms twitched and spasmed. She turned off the machine and rested it at her feet to shake out her arms.

"Need a break?" Mr. Benson called loudly to be heard above the whine of the chainsaws.

"Yeah. I'll be right back."

She headed back to the truck and grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler. Taking a few sips of the cold liquid, she watched Gage as he hung from the top of a tree and moved the chainsaw against a limb. He'd shed his top shirt, and the muscles in his arms pressed tight against the sleeves of his white T-shirt.

On the other side of the clearing, Travis bent over to cut through a fallen tree with the chainsaw. They'd accomplished a lot already.

Hadley looked at her phone to check the time. They'd been at work three hours already. A text from Cheyenne lit up the screen, and Hadley opened the message.

Cheyenne: Mom is great today. She had a long therapy session, so she'll probably sleep for a while this afternoon. You might want to come after dinner if you make it over here today.

Hadley: Sounds good. I might be late–

A cold hand pressed over her nose and mouth while a strong arm wrapped around her torso, lifting her to her feet. The phone fell to the ground as she kicked her legs and pulled at the hand on her face. Panic beat a quick drum in her chest as she tried to breathe, but the hand was too tight.

She tried to scream, but she couldn't force even a small breath in or out. The lingering metallic scent stopped up her nose, only making her stomach roll as vomit churned in her gut.

Flailing her arms and legs, Hadley fought to escape the hold. The loud whine of the chainsaws faded as she lost sight of Travis and Gage. Her limbs grew impossibly heavy, and a burning in her chest rose until everything around her fell into darkness.